![]() ![]() According to sources more informed than us, the soundtrack from the 1929 version has apparently been partially lost but much or all of the soundtrack for the 1930 version has survived. The existence of multiple versions of the film requires some clarification (for us as much as for anyone else) of the differences between the 1925 versions (domestic and international) and the 1929 (domestic sound rerelease) version and the 1930 (international sound rerelease) version. When it was released to theaters, the poorly-executed sound version of The Phantom of the Opera was only seven or eight reels long. Scenes were removed altogether, compressed, or combined with other scenes. The film was resequenced and retitled, cutting in new sound sequences and cutting out thousands of feet of footage. Other actors were replaced for sound retakes. New dialog, ballet and opera performance sequences were shot (all minus the participation of Chaney, who was now under contract at MGM). When the film was being prepared for a December 1929 reissue, Universal executives decided that talking sequences had to be added along with synchronized music and sound effects. A few scenes were removed for the film’s August 1925 New York premiere and general release. ![]() When the film premiered in April 1925 it was presented in a ten-reel version, with a few Technicolor sequences. We recommend that serious collectors have at least two copies: the original 19 rerelease versions. The film continues to be one of the biggest draws at modern silent film showings and one of the most collected of silent era films. The image of a maskless Erik is an easy one to call up in the minds of film lovers worldwide - it is an image that is among the most cherished of moments in world cinema. And what is the point of the ‘messenger from the shadows’ that passes Ledoux and Raoul later in the film? We abhor the number of times ballet dancers twirl around - clutching their tu-tus - to express their fright, and their stagey flock-of-geese blocking. We attribute the dragging pace to Julian, as well as the at-times melodramatic gesticulation and posturing of Mary Philbin and the pulp-story spookiness of Inspector Ledoux. ![]() Much of the blame lies with director Rupert Julian. But the film itself has aged poorly due to its slow pacing and maudlin moments. The Phantom of the Opera (1925) has acquired an apocryphal reputation over the years as one of the quintessential horror films, due in no small part to Lon Chaney’s deserved reputation as a makeup master and character actor, Universal’s reputation as a horror film producer in the 1930s and 1940s, and the stills from the film reproduced on countless pages of Famous Monsters of Filmland magazine. One of the best-known of all silent era films is hardly one of the best. Reviews of silent film releases on home video. Silent Era Home Page > Home Video > The Phantom of the Opera ![]()
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